However, here in the Bay Area, one of the region’s tipless pioneers is changing course.

Thad Vogler, who did away with tips 10 months ago at Bar Agricole and Trou Normand, is ending his experiment and returning to the conventional model.

His two San Francisco restaurants are going back to tips.

The main reason? Staff retention.

“We haven’t been able to keep servers,” Vogler wrote in an email. “We were hoping more restaurants would switch but, for now, it’s been impossible to compete with more traditional places in keeping front of the house staff who prefer the control and upside of the tip system.”

At Bar Agricole and Trou Normand, gratuity will once again be accepted. The base wage for front-of-house workers will be $12.25.

In a note to his staff, Vogler confessed that “it felt like we were forcing an ideological decision and that all of our staff wasn’t happy. I’m proud we tried and maybe in the future more restaurants will try this model.”

Doing away with tipping is so ingrained that it requires a huge cultural shift on the part of the restaurants, employees and dining public. Not everyone is ready to make it. But when an industry leader like Danny Meyer makes a big move like he did today, the country will certainly be watching.